Player Updates

New Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is already looking like the ace of the staff. Scherzer faced live batters for the first time Sunday since signing with the club.

"It felt great. It has been a few months since I've been out there facing hitters," Scherzer said. "It actually seemed like I knew what I was doing. It was a good feeling."

One of the hitters who faced him, Dan Butler, said his pitches were moving well around the strike zone.

"He threw his fastball down," said Butler, who hit a weak ground ball on the second-base side of the diamond. "It looked like he was throwing from both sides of the plate. ... It looked like the breaking ball was sharp. As he got settled in with the hitters in there, the fastball was coming out. He was doing a good job of it."

Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowksi said Monday agent Scott Boras did reach out to him a few times this offseason about starting pitcher Max Scherzer, but no negotiations took place before Scherzer agreed to a seven-year, $210 million contract with the Nationals.

On Wednesday, Boras stayed away from any details regarding negotiations with the Tigers and was very complimentary of the Detroit organization, per MLB.com. Scherzer turned down a six-year, $144 million contract extension from the Tigers last spring.

“First of all, (owner) Mike Ilitch is much like the Lerner family: They’re owners that run their own shop. They do their own thing their own way,” Boras told MLB Network Radio. “I don’t think anyone should question anything about what the Tiger organization wants to do other than win.

"To suggest that, when a general manager makes a bright move and makes an offer for a player, I just don’t see the negative of it. And I don’t think that Mike Ilitch sees the negative of it either. And as you move forward and you continue to communicate, the Tigers and us were always in conversation, and the reason we were is that it was a place that Max Scherzer won 70 percent of his games there. He was a very important part to them potentiating them achieving Mike Ilitch’s goals in winning.

“When you have a wedding, you don’t really talk about who you dated, and I kind of leave it at that. Certainly there’s nothing that the Tigers don’t do. They cross every bridge and they’re very conscientious about how they pursue players. They had great value for Max and it was a great relationship. Obviously this fit for Max was something that was, in his mind, something better for him.”

“We are delighted to welcome Max Scherzer to our organization,” said Theodore N. Lerner, principal owner of the Nationals. “An incredibly talented and widely-feared pitcher, Max brings even more depth to an already outstanding rotation. We are confident he will make significant contributions to our pursuit of winning a World Series championship.”

Although the team did not release the financial terms of the deal, Scherzer is expected to make $210 million, according to CBSSports.com Baseball Insider Jon Heyman. However, half of the money is deferred. Scherzer will receive $105 million from 2015-21 and another $105 million from 2022-28.

Scherzer arrives in Washington having made the All-Star team the last two years. He is 91-50 with a 3.58 ERA over seven MLB seasons with the Diamondbacks and Tigers. He won the AL Cy Young in 2013 after going 21-3 with a 2.90 ERA.

“We could not be happier to add a player of Max’s caliber to our stable of starting pitchers,” general manager Mike Rizzo said. “It’s not every day that a team adds a Cy Young Award winner to its roster. He is a playoff-tested ace, and we’re excited to call him a part of our family.”

Max Scherzer showed interest in return to Tigers, but no contract talks

by Michael Hurcomb | CBSSports.com

Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowksi said Monday agent Scott Boras did reach out to him a few times this offseason about starting pitcher Max Scherzer, but no negotiations took place before Scherzer agreed to a seven-year, $210 million contract with the Nationals.

"Boras reached out a couple times this winter to say Scherzer still had interest in Detroit, but no contract talks," Dombrowski told MLB.com reporter Jason Beck.

Starting pitcher Max Scherzer's seven-year deal with the Nationals is worth $210 million, according to CBSSports.com Baseball Insider Jon Heyman. However, half of the money is deferred.

Scherzer will receive $105 million from 2015-21 and another $105 million from 2022-28.

The Nationals offer ended up being $66 million more than the seven-year offer the Tigers made to Scherzer last spring. The deferrals make the value less than $210 million, but there is no income tax for non-residents in Washington D.C., according to Heyman.

Scherzer is headed back to the NL after spending the last five seasons pitching in the AL for the Tigers. The two-time All-Star is 91-50 with a 3.58 ERA in seven MLB seasons. Scherzer, who won the AL Cy Young in 2013, is set to join a Nationals rotation that features Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, Doug Fister and Gio Gonzalez.